BART Board to get update on planned improvements for all transit in the Bay Area
The BART Board of Directors will get an update at their board meeting tomorrow, January 25, 2024, on the ongoing efforts of Bay Area transit systems to work together as one coordinated network to grow ridership and make transit easier to use.
Transit agencies in the Bay Area are committed to advancing exciting improvements in fares, customer information, coordinated schedules, and accessibility as outlined in the Transit Transformation Action Plan released in 2021. The plan is in coordination with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission which is providing funding to launch multiple pilot projects, studies, and planning efforts.
As transit agencies work towards a potential regional transportation ballot measure in 2026, the implementation of this plan will help build confidence in transit.
The plan includes:
- Testing new fare policies such as unlimited region-wide transit passes and free/reduced cost transfers between systems through Clipper.
- Exploring changes to regional fare structures to keep things simple and affordable and identifying what new funding would be needed to implement changes.
- An emerging new unified look for all transit agencies with consistent signage and new maps that show riders how to get around.
- Coordinated schedules that change at the same time and that improve connections.
- Increasing bus priority lanes to speed up bus trips and improve reliability.
- Improved regional paratransit trips.
- Ongoing advocacy for new funding to pay for all the changes and ensure agencies can maintain and enhance service, improvements to safety, and increased accessibility.
These improvements are critical for transit agencies in the Bay Area to showcase what a well-funded transit network looks and feels like. “Bay Area transit is not business as usual,” said Alicia Trost, Chief Communications Officer at BART. “We are listening to our riders and working on a new vision and better future that features cleaner, safer, easier to use transit.”